Genesis 37 - 38, Matthew 27, Psalm 20

The Generations of Jacob

37Now Jacob lived in ^athe land ¹where his father had sojourned, in the land of Canaan. ²These are the generations of Jacob. Joseph, when ^aseventeen years of age, was pasturing the flock with his brothers while he was still a youth, along with ^bthe sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father’s wives. And Joseph brought back an ^cevil report about them to their father. ³Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his sons because he was ^athe son of his old age; and he made him a ¹^,^bvaricolored tunic. ⁴And his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, and so they ^ahated him and could not speak to him in peace.

Joseph’s Dreams

⁵Then Joseph ¹^,^ahad a dream, and he told it to his brothers; so they hated him even more. ⁶And he said to them, “Please listen to this dream which I have ¹had: ⁷Indeed, behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and behold, my sheaf rose up and also stood upright; and behold, your sheaves gathered around and ^abowed down to my sheaf.” ⁸Then his brothers said to him, “^aAre you really going to reign over us? Or are you really going to rule over us?” So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words.

⁹Then he ¹had still another dream and recounted it to his brothers and said, “Behold, I have ²had still another dream; and behold, the sun and the moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me.” ¹⁰And he recounted it to his father and to his brothers; and his father rebuked him and said to him, “What is this dream that you have ¹had? Shall I and your mother and ^ayour brothers really come to bow ourselves down before you to the ground?” ¹¹^aAnd his brothers were jealous of him, but his father ^bkept the saying in mind.

¹²Then his brothers went to pasture their father’s flock in Shechem. ¹³And Israel said to Joseph, “Are not your brothers pasturing the flock in ^aShechem? Come, and I will send you to them.” And he said to him, “¹I will go.” ¹⁴Then he said to him, “Go now and see about the welfare of your brothers and the welfare of the flock, and bring word back to me.” So he sent him from the valley of ^aHebron, and he came to Shechem.

¹⁵And a man found him, and behold, he was wandering in the field; and the man asked him, “¹What are you seeking?” ¹⁶And he said, “I am seeking my brothers; please tell me where they are pasturing the flock.” ¹⁷Then the man said, “They have journeyed from here; for I heard them saying, ‘Let us go to ^aDothan.’” So Joseph went after his brothers and found them at Dothan.

Joseph Sold by His Brothers

¹⁸And they saw him from a distance, and before he came close to them, they ^aplotted against him to put him to death. ¹⁹Then they said to one another, “¹Here comes this dreamer! ²⁰“So now, come and let us kill him and cast him into one of the pits; and ^awe will say, ‘A wild beast devoured him.’ Then let us see what will become of his dreams!” ²¹But ^aReuben heard this and delivered him out of their hands and said, “Let us not strike down his life.” ²²Reuben further said to them, “Shed no blood. Cast him into this pit that is in the wilderness, but do not put forth your hands against him”—that he might deliver him out of their hands to return him to his father. ²³Now it happened, when Joseph ¹reached his brothers, that they stripped Joseph of his ²tunic, the varicolored tunic that was on him; ²⁴and they took him and cast him into the pit. Now the pit was empty, without any water in it.

²⁵And they sat down to eat ¹a meal. Then they lifted up their eyes and saw, and behold, a caravan of ^aIshmaelites was coming from Gilead, with their camels bearing ²^,^baromatic gum and ³^,^cbalm and ⁴myrrh, going to bring them down to Egypt. ²⁶And Judah said to his brothers, “What gain is it that we kill our brother and ^acover up his blood? ²⁷“^aCome and let us sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay our hands on him, for he is our brother, our own flesh.” And his brothers listened. ²⁸Then some ^aMidianite traders passed by, so they pulled him up and lifted Joseph out of the pit and ^bsold Joseph to the Ishmaelites for ¹twenty shekels of silver. Thus ^cthey brought Joseph into Egypt.

²⁹Then Reuben returned to the pit, and behold, Joseph was not in the pit; so he ^atore his garments. ³⁰Then he returned to his brothers and said, “^aThe boy is not there; as for me, where am I to go?” ³¹So ^athey took Joseph’s tunic and slaughtered a male goat and dipped the tunic in the blood; ³²and they sent the varicolored tunic and brought it to their father and said, “We found this; please recognize it—whether it is your son’s tunic or not.” ³³And he recognized it and said, “It is my son’s tunic. ^aA wild beast has devoured him; ^bJoseph has surely been torn to pieces!” ³⁴So Jacob ^atore his clothes and put sackcloth on his loins and mourned for his son many days. ³⁵Then all his sons and all his daughters arose to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted. And he said, “Surely I will ^ago down to Sheol in mourning for my son.” So his father wept for him. ³⁶Meanwhile, the ¹Midianites ^asold him in Egypt to Potiphar, Pharaoh’s officer, the captain of the bodyguard.

Judah and Tamar

38Now it happened at that time that Judah went down from his brothers and turned aside to a certain ^aAdullamite, whose name was Hirah. ²And Judah saw there a daughter of a certain Canaanite whose name was ^aShua; and he took her and went in to her. ³So she conceived and bore a son, and he named him ^aEr. ⁴Then she conceived again and bore a son, and she named him ^aOnan. ⁵And she bore still another son, and she named him ^aShelah; and it was at Chezib ¹that she bore him.

⁶Then Judah took a wife for Er his firstborn, and her name was Tamar. ⁷But ^aEr, Judah’s firstborn, was evil in the sight of Yahweh, so Yahweh put him to death. ⁸Then Judah said to Onan, “^aGo in to your brother’s wife, and perform your duty as a brother-in-law to her, and raise up a seed for your brother.” ⁹And Onan knew that the ^aseed would not be his; and it happened that when he went in to his brother’s wife, he wasted it on the ground in order not to give seed to his brother. ¹⁰But what he did was displeasing in the sight of Yahweh; so He ^aput him to death also. ¹¹Then Judah said to his daughter-in-law Tamar, “^aLive as a widow in your father’s house until my son Shelah grows up”; for he ¹thought, “I am afraid lest he also die like his brothers.” So Tamar went and lived in her father’s house.

¹²And ¹after a considerable time, Shua’s daughter, the wife of Judah, died. Then Judah was comforted, and he went up to his sheepshearers at ^aTimnah, he and his friend Hirah the Adullamite. ¹³Then it was told to Tamar, “¹Behold, your father-in-law is going up to ^aTimnah to shear his sheep.” ¹⁴So she removed her widow’s garments from herself and ^acovered herself with a ¹veil and wrapped herself. And she sat at the entrance of ²Enaim, which is on the road to Timnah; for she saw that Shelah had grown up, and ^bshe had not been given to him as a wife. ¹⁵Then Judah saw her, and he thought she was a harlot, for she had covered her face. ¹⁶So he turned aside to her by the road and said, “Here now, let me come in to you”; for he did not know that she was his daughter-in-law. And she said, “What will you give me, that you may come in to me?” ¹⁷He said, therefore, “I will send you a ¹young goat from the flock.” She said, moreover, “Will you give a pledge until you send it?” ¹⁸Then he said, “What pledge shall I give you?” And she said, “^aYour signet and your cord and your staff that is in your hand.” So he gave them to her and went in to her, and she conceived by him. ¹⁹Then she arose and went. And she removed her ¹veil from herself and put on her widow’s garments.

²⁰Then Judah sent the ¹young goat by his friend the Adullamite to take the pledge from the woman’s hand, but he did not find her. ²¹So he asked the men of her place, saying, “Where is the cult prostitute who was by the road at Enaim?” But they said, “There has been no cult prostitute here.” ²²So he returned to Judah and said, “I did not find her; and furthermore, the men of the place said, ‘There has been no cult prostitute here.’” ²³Then Judah said, “Let her ¹keep them, lest we become a laughingstock. Behold, I sent this young goat, but you did not find her.”

²⁴Now it happened about three months later that it was told to Judah saying, “Your daughter-in-law Tamar has played the harlot, and behold, she is also with child by harlotry.” Then Judah said, “Bring her out and ^alet her be burned!” ²⁵It was while she was being brought out that she sent to her father-in-law, saying, “I am with child by the man to whom these things belong.” And she said, “^aPlease recognize this and see, whose signet ring and cords and staff are these?” ²⁶And Judah recognized them and said, “^aShe is more righteous than I, inasmuch as ^bI did not give her to my son Shelah.” And he did not ¹know her again.

²⁷Now it happened at the time she was giving birth, that behold, there were ^atwins in her womb. ²⁸And it happened, while she was giving birth, one put out a hand, and the midwife took and tied a scarlet thread on his hand, saying, “This one came out first.” ²⁹And then it happened, as he drew back his hand, that behold, his brother came out. So she said, “What a breach you have made for yourself!” So he was named ¹^,^aPerez. ³⁰Afterward his brother came out who had the scarlet thread on his hand; and he was named ¹^,^aZerah.

Judas’ Remorse

27^aNow when morning came, all the chief priests and the elders of the people took counsel together against Jesus to put Him to death; ²and they bound Him, and led Him away and ^adelivered Him to ^bPilate the governor.

³Then when ^aJudas, who had betrayed Him, saw that He had been condemned, he felt remorse and returned ^bthe ¹thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, ⁴saying, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.” But they said, “What is that to us? ^aSee to that yourself!” ⁵And he threw the pieces of silver into ^athe ¹sanctuary and departed; and ^bhe went away and hanged himself. ⁶And the chief priests took the pieces of silver and said, “It is not lawful to put them into the temple treasury, since it is the price of blood.” ⁷And taking counsel together, they bought ¹with the money the Potter’s Field as a burial place for strangers. ⁸^aFor this reason that field has been called the Field of Blood to this day. ⁹Then that which was spoken through Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled, saying, “^aAnd ¹they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of the one whose price had been set by the sons of Israel; ¹⁰^aand ¹they gave them for the Potter’s Field, as the ²Lord directed me.”

Jesus Before Pilate

¹¹^aNow Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor questioned Him, saying, “Are You the ^bKing of the Jews?” And Jesus said to him, “^cYou yourself say it.” ¹²And while He was being accused by the chief priests and elders, ^aHe did not answer. ¹³Then Pilate *said to Him, “Do You not hear how many things they testify against You?” ¹⁴And ^aHe did not answer him with regard to even a single ¹charge, so the governor marveled greatly.

¹⁵^aNow at the feast the governor was accustomed to release for the crowd any one prisoner whom they wanted. ¹⁶And at that time they were holding a notorious prisoner, called Barabbas. ¹⁷So when the people gathered together, Pilate said to them, “Whom do you want me to release for you? ¹Barabbas, or Jesus ^awho is called ²Christ?” ¹⁸For he knew that because of envy they had delivered Him over.

¹⁹^aNow while he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent him a message, saying, “Have nothing to do with that ^brighteous Man; for ¹last night I suffered greatly ^cin a dream because of Him.” ²⁰But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowds to ^aask for Barabbas and to put Jesus to death. ²¹But the governor answered and said to them, “Which of the two do you want me to release for you?” And they said, “Barabbas.” ²²Pilate *said to them, “Then, what shall I do with Jesus ^awho is called ¹Christ?” They all *said, “Let Him be crucified!” ²³And he said, “Why, what evil did He do?” But they were crying out all the more, saying, “Let Him be crucified!”

²⁴Now when Pilate saw that he was accomplishing nothing, but rather that ^aa riot was starting, he took water and ^bwashed his hands in front of the crowd, saying, “I am innocent of ^cthis man’s blood; ^dsee to that yourselves.” ²⁵And all the people answered and said, “^aHis blood be on us and on our children!” ²⁶Then he released Barabbas ¹for them; but after having Jesus ^ascourged, he delivered Him over to be crucified.

Jesus Is Mocked

²⁷^aThen when the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into ^bthe ¹Praetorium, they gathered the whole Roman ²^,^ccohort around Him. ²⁸And they stripped Him and ^aput a scarlet robe on Him. ²⁹^aAnd after twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on His head, and a ¹reed in His right hand; and they knelt down before Him and mocked Him, saying, “^bHail, King of the Jews!” ³⁰^aAnd they spat on Him, and took the reed and began to beat Him on the head. ³¹^aWhen they had mocked Him, they took the scarlet robe off Him and put His own garments back on Him, and led Him away to crucify Him.

³²^aAnd as they were coming out, they found a man of ^bCyrene named Simon, ¹whom they pressed into service to bear His cross.

The Crucifixion

³³^aAnd when they came to a place called ^bGolgotha, which means Place of a Skull, ³⁴^athey gave Him ^bwine to drink mixed with gall; and after tasting it, He did not want to drink.

³⁵And when they had crucified Him, ^athey divided up His garments among themselves by casting ¹lots. ³⁶And sitting down, they began to ^akeep watch over Him there. ³⁷And above His head they put up the charge against Him ¹which read, “^aTHIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS.”

³⁸At that time two robbers *were crucified with Him, one on the right and one on the left. ³⁹And those passing by were blaspheming Him, ^ashaking their heads ⁴⁰and saying, “^aYou who are going to destroy the sanctuary and rebuild it in three days, save Yourself! ^bIf You are the Son of God, come down from the cross.” ⁴¹In the same way the chief priests also, along with the scribes and elders, were mocking Him and saying, ⁴²“^aHe saved others; ¹He cannot save Himself. ^bHe is the King of Israel; let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe in Him. ⁴³“^aHe trusts in God; let God rescue Him now, if He ¹delights in Him; for He said, ‘I am the Son of God.’” ⁴⁴^aAnd the robbers who had been crucified with Him were also insulting Him with the same words.

⁴⁵^aNow from the ¹sixth hour darkness ²fell upon all the land until the ³ninth hour. ⁴⁶And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “^aEli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” that is, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” ⁴⁷And some of those who were standing there, when they heard it, began saying, “This man is calling for Elijah.” ⁴⁸^aAnd immediately one of them ran, and taking a sponge, he filled it with sour wine and put it on a reed, and gave Him a drink. ⁴⁹But the rest of them were saying, “¹Let us see whether Elijah will come to save Him².” ⁵⁰And Jesus ^acried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit. ⁵¹^aAnd behold, ^bthe ¹veil of the sanctuary was torn in two from top to bottom; and ^cthe earth shook and the rocks were split. ⁵²And the tombs were opened, and many bodies of the ¹saints who had ^afallen asleep were raised; ⁵³and coming out of the tombs after His resurrection they entered ^athe holy city and appeared to many. ⁵⁴^aNow the centurion, and those who were with him ^bkeeping guard over Jesus, when they saw ^cthe earthquake and the things that were happening, became very frightened and said, “Truly this was ^dGod’s Son!”

⁵⁵^aAnd many women were there looking on from a distance, who had followed Jesus from Galilee while ¹^,^bministering to Him. ⁵⁶Among them was ^aMary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and ^bthe mother of the sons of Zebedee.

Jesus Is Buried

⁵⁷^aNow when it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who himself had also become a disciple of Jesus. ⁵⁸This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate ordered it to be given to him. ⁵⁹And Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, ⁶⁰and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock; and he rolled ^aa large stone against the entrance of the tomb and went away. ⁶¹And ^aMary Magdalene was there, and the other Mary, sitting opposite the grave.

⁶²Now on the next day, ¹the day after ^athe ²Preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered together with Pilate, ⁶³and said, “Sir, we remember that when He was still alive that deceiver said, ‘^aAfter three days I am to rise again.’ ⁶⁴“Therefore, order for the grave to be made secure until the third day, lest His disciples come and steal Him away and say to the people, ‘He has risen from the dead,’ and the last deception will be worse than the first.” ⁶⁵Pilate said to them, “You have a ^aguard; go, make it as secure as you know how.” ⁶⁶And they went and made the grave secure, and along with ^athe guard they set a ^bseal on ^cthe stone.

We Will Boast in the Name of Yahweh

For the choir director. A Psalm of David.

May Yahweh answer you ^ain the day of distress!May the ^bname of the ^cGod of Jacob set you securely on high!²May He send you help ^afrom the sanctuaryAnd ^buphold you from Zion!³May He ^aremember all your meal offeringsAnd ^bfind your burnt offering ¹acceptable! ² Selah.⁴May He grant you your ^aheart’s desireAnd ^bfulfill all your ¹counsel!⁵¹We will ^asing for joy over your salvation,And in the name of our God we will ^bset up our banners.May Yahweh ^cfulfill all your petitions.⁶Now ^aI know that Yahweh saves His anointed;He will ^banswer him from His holy heavenWith the ¹^,^csaving might of His right hand.⁷Some boast in chariots and some in ^ahorses,But ^bwe will ¹boast in the name of Yahweh, our God.⁸They have ^abowed down and fallen,But we have ^brisen and stood upright.⁹¹^,^aSave, O Yahweh;May the ^bKing answer us in the day we call.